The familiar glowing blue screen appeared right in front of Nash’s face.

[Quest Completed: Team Unity]

Objective: Defeat the opposing team while contributing less than 50% to your team’s total actions and effort.

Reward: Team Box x1

Nash’s mouth twitched into a slow, satisfied grin. He felt a cool prickle roll up his forearms as three faint, glassy crystals materialized, orbiting his wrists like slow, glowing coins.

[ITEM ACQUIRED: Team Box]

The crystals spun faster for a second, then settled into his skin with a warm pulse.

[TEAM CORE — SET (Tier I) – UPGRADED]

• Crystal III — MOMENTUM CHAIN

Effect: Every successful pass or defensive stop by a teammate generates "Momentum." After Momentum, the next shot by any teammate gains +25% accuracy and ignores defensive pressure for 3 seconds. Momentum reset on turnovers.

• Crystal IV — ECHO STEP

Effect: When one teammate makes a hard cut or explosive movement, all other teammates on the floor gain +12% burst speed and +18% vertical for the next 4 seconds.

• Crystal V — ZONE STATE

Effect: The entire team can enter "Zone State" for 10 minutes. All stats x2 (speed, strength, accuracy, reaction time). Cooldown depends on individual stamina, if any teammate’s stamina falls below 15%, that player cannot enter the Zone until recovered.

• Activation requires Nash’s command and team’s synergy.

Nash stared at the new panels, impressed. He knew what he wanted, he did what was needed to get it, but still... Holy shit.

"Damn... Holy fucking damn." His mouth was shaped like a ’O’, but soon he grinned wider.

What the hell was actually this? At this point, screw the training. Let him test anyone’s patience to challenge him in that kind of match.

How could this be even allowed by the system?

Like, ok, the zone state, the most important reward here in his eyes lasted only 10 minutes. It was short on paper, plus there wasn’t a mention of how would they be after. Maybe the players entering the zone would burn more stamina? Jaz would definitely be out before the first quarter ended.

But then, it never stipulated that there was any limitation. And it didn’t have to be the whole game.

He could wait for the last 10 minutes, make a team enter the zone, break their opponents for 10 minutes, take the subs in for the next quarter, make them enter the zone too in the last 10 minutes, break them more, and on the third quarter the first team would have recovered enough for...

Before he could even finish that thought, all four girls exploded toward him.

Jaz was the first one to crash into him.

"WE DID IT!" she screamed, her arms wrapping around his waist so tight he could feel her fingers digging into his sides. And then, oof, she lifted him right off the ground like he weighed nothing, laughing so hard her whole body shook against him.

Just how much more should he have to increase his eight and weight to handle her energy? Well, not that he disliked it anyway.

Her chest, still damp with sweat, squeezed against his front as she spun him around once like some kind of victory dance.

"We totally crushed them!"

Nia didn’t even wait for him to be put down before she jumped onto his back, arms looping around his neck like a hyperactive monkey.

"Nash! Did you see that? I stole so many balls today!" she panted against his ear. Her skin was slick with sweat, sticking to him as she clung tighter. "Tell me I was your favorite today. Say it!"

Then came Alicia from the side, squeezing his arm between hers like she was trying to pop it off. Her soft chest pressed against his bicep, warm and slightly sticky from the game.

"I made the threes," she said, rubbing her body against his arm. "Like you told me to. Did you see? I didn’t even know I could do that!"

Even Aiko, who acted like she was too cool for celebrations, stomped over with her arms crossed.

"Hmph. Why are you all getting so worked up?" she muttered, her cheeks pink despite her trying to sound bored. "It wasn’t anything special. They weren’t even that good."

But when she saw Jaz, Nia, and Alicia practically smothering Nash while ignoring her completely, she clicked her tongue and stomped the floor.

"Hey! I played good too, you know!" She shoved her way in, wrapping her arms around his side and burying her face against his shoulder to hide her blush. "Idiots... all of you..."

And just like that, Nash was buried under four sweaty, laughing, squirming girls, bodies pressed together in a tangled mess.

He could barely breathe, but honestly? He didn’t care. Their combined scent of sweat was the best smell in the world right now.

Nash laughed, the sound muffled under the pile of warm, excited girls.

"Alright, alright," he managed, voice half-crushed under their weight. "You all did great. Seriously great."

Nash was two steps into heaven, but hell was definitely right there watching.

On the other side of the court, Drex was the first one to lose it. His face twisted up and he shoved Mac right in the chest, making him stumble back like a drunk guy on pavement.

"You fucking idiot!" Drex screamed. "You held the ball every single damn time like an imbecile! I told you to pass it fast, and what’d you do? Just stood there staring like a fucking horny dog! That’s why we lost, you piece of shit!"

Mac staggered back, his eyes going wide.

"What the... What the hell, man? You!... You’re responsible too! You missed half your damn shots! Don’t dump all this on me!"

But Drex wasn’t listening. He shoved Mac again, harder this time, pushing him toward the wall so his back hit it.

"Shut the fuck up! You played like actual trash the whole damn game! Every single time, they just took it from you like you were handing it to them! The hell is wrong with you?! How are you this bad?! You’re the reason we looked like total clowns out there!"

The other guys tried to jump in, Jinzo grabbed Drex’s arm.

"Hey, Hey! Come on, calm down—"

"Get the hell off me!" Drex snarled, shaking him off. His glare turned to him next. "And you! Mr. Big Talk! You’re worse than him! You set up the whole damn match. You said we’d humiliate Nash, and then what? You just hid behind him like a coward and let me do everything! You’re all bark and no damn bite! Useless! Every single one of you is useless! ... Fucking cheerleaders! I’m tired of getting ridiculous because of you!"

The guys were trying to hold Drex back now, gripping his arms and shoulders, but he kept thrashing like an angry dog on a leash, his face red like he was about to explode.

"Let me go! I’m done with this damn team!"

Up on the railing, the staff members were glancing at each other like they weren’t sure what to do.

"Should we go down there? This looks like it’s gonna get real bad..." One of them whispered.

They all glanced at the only person who could actually do something about it, the one who should definitely step in right now.

But Victoria didn’t move. She just stood there with her arms crossed, her golden fingers tapping slowly against her sleeve, watching everything unfold below like it was some kind of TV show.

Drex’s outburst was so sudden and so damn violent that everyone in the arena just froze, like someone had hit pause on a video, everyone was watching him.

On the girls’ side, Jaz took half a step forward.

"Should we do something?"

But Alicia grabbed her arm real quick.

"Wait... let’s see what happens." She said.

Meanwhile, Nash just... stood there, like a statue. He watched Drex’s rage, calm, detached, but kinda fascinated. It was creepy, honestly.

Then Jinzo joined the dance.

"You’re blaming me now? You and the rest of these useless fucks are the reason we lost! You all played like shit against this bastard!" He pointed straight at Nash, his finger shaking. "We had the handicap and still got destroyed because of you idiots!"

Drex whirled on him so fast his neck should’ve snapped.

"Don’t you dare accuse me, you washed-up has-been!" His face was red. "You got dunked on by your own ex and couldn’t do shit! How’s that feel? She’ll fuck him and brag about it to him, how does that feel??"

Ohhh, that was a low blow. You could hear the air leaving everyone’s lungs. Jinzo’s face twitched. Nah, he could accept being blamed for poor performance, but that one was on him.

The two of them looked like they were about to throw punches any second. Everyone was holding their breath, waiting for someone to swing first.

"Enough." Nash spoke.

Silence again, heavy silence. Nash started walking toward them, each step echoed, like he was counting down to disaster.

The boys parted without even thinking, like their bodies just knew to get out of his way.

Nash stopped right in front of Drex and Jinzo.

"It’s better to stop here," he said. "Nothing happening now will serve anyone."

Drex laughed. He took a step closer, getting right up in Nash’s face.

"Wow, now look at that. Now you want to play the hero?" His voice cracked a little. "Of all people, you want to play the hero? Lol, after everything you did? You’re the cause of all this shit, asshole! You treated us like garbage, took all the girls for yourself, and now you’re standing there acting like you’re the nice guy? Are you serious there?!"

The good thing with this heat, would be that face to the same enemy, the two guys united. Jinzo jumped in right after him.

"Yeah! You come in here like you have any right to judge us, you’re seriously trying to give us a lesson? You steal everything, and expect us to just accept it? Now playing the nice guy?"

Nash looked at both of them, sighed, then spoke.

"Nice guy? I never said I was nice. I never claimed to be kind or fair." He shrugged, like it was obvious. "Why did you think it would be it? We’re all from the underground, we know how things work here. This isn’t a fairy tale where the good guy saves everyone. Power rules here. If I can do what I want here, it’s not because someone was nice to me, it’s because I have the power to help people getting what they want.That’s all there is."

Drex snorted.

"So you admit it? You’re just a selfish piece of shit who only cares about himself?"

Surprisingly, Nash nodded, maybe too quickly like it was obvious.

"Yes. I am selfish. I do things for myself, for my own good. Who doesn’t? Come on, look around you. You see anyone being nice just for the sake of it? Nah. Ain’t no saint in this place."

His eyes moved slowly over the staff members, like he was counting every single face, but never on the girls on his side.

A few people shifted, uncomfortable. Good. Let them squirm.

"You think someone out there would throw everything away, money, safety, their damn life, just to help some stranger?" He barked a laugh. "Bullshit. Everyone’s got their own reasons. Everyone wants something. Even you."

No one spoke, no one even coughed. Just the sound of someone’s shoes scuffing dirt.

"You get out hoping to see the night. You try to not sleep on a empty stomach. You try to not rot somewhere. And many of them are already rotting, so they try to have some fun in this hell. Does that sound like a paradise for nice people?"

Drex was getting angrier by seconds, yeah, Nash had a point, ok, but it sounded like he was lecturing him or something.

Really bold from him after everything, and right now? He didn’t have time for this.

"Just what the hell is your point? You telling me to calm down now?"

And Nash was calm, annoyingly calm.

"Because despite being in hell, I try my best to keep some leftovers of decency." He sighed, like this was all so obvious. "I admit I’ve been really tough with you guys. I’m the reason you’re crashing out now, and I’ve been on th other side once, so I can sympathize with the feeling. But having power and using it isn’t so bad, you can change the lives of the people around you."

He glanced at the girls behind him. He admitted it, just like that. No shame, no hesitation.

"I’m selfish. I won’t try to change it, because this is how things are and how I have always lived. And I’m lucky to be on the winning side today," He looked at the boys, direct, unflinching. "This is just how things are. By siding with a rising star in the underground, you win a lot. By antagonizing him, you become a loser. You choose your side."

That was it, that was all there was to know in the basic daily life down there.

Even they had sided with Jinzo because he was the next big thing before Nash.

Who could say how things would have been if Nash had appeared earlier?

Drex groaned, turning his head away like he couldn’t even look at Nash anymore.

"It’s sure good because you’re not the one on the loser’s side!"

"I have been on the loser’s side too, so I can understand that." Nash said simply. "But even now, why do you think you’re on the loser’s side?"

He explained, long, clear, like he was spelling it out for children.

"Even you fought for your spot and through power you imposed yourself." He crossed his arms, leaning back slightly. "I often thought about having my team by my own standard, and as you were opposing me, I didn’t consider you in my plans. But as you were the best shooter, I often put you on the first lineup." He shrugged, like it was simple. "Meaning that even you lived by these rules. Plus, can you tell me I’m wrong? What choice do I have in this team?"

Nash pointed, first at Jinzo.

"A guy who forgot why he was the ace of this team one day." Then at Mac. "A guy who will screw the game to get touched by a woman." Then at the three NPCs. "Three guys who no one remembers their role in the team."

"You penis!" The three NPCs yelled, faces red.

Nash just raised his shoulders, like, what can you do?

"See? And you can understand that better than me. You’ve seen how this team has moved between before and after I came."

Drex thought about that for a bit, oh, it was so annoying... the ability of this guy to always have a good point, like... wasn’t he responsible of this? No? Not really? Then why was he... Why would Drex feel tricked? Plus, it’s true that he often played, in contrary to the others.

Drew through carefully about it, yeah, Nash was right, but no way he would admit it. He shook his head like he was trying to clear it.

"Argh! Just why the hell are you telling me this? What do you want? You are the one who make this team insufferable! You always go against us, don’t start lecturing me on anything!"

Nash put his hands on his hips and sighed, like he was tired of explaining the obvious.

"This is going to take forever. Let’s not play like children by beating around the bush. I’m your captain and have this much power because I have the power." He counted off on his fingers. "I’ve beaten you guys with randoms like twice. I’ve beaten you in any training we’ve done, even without passing or attacking. I’m in a power position because today, I have the power to win." He looked Drex dead in the eye. "You, you are in the starting lineup because you have the power to surpass the people I would like to put in your place."

Then Nash dropped the hammer.

"You had your plans, my power made me crush this. I had my plan, your power made me crush it." He smirked, just a little. "Power rules, you have power so you can play, because even a degenerate like me wouldn’t root against the best team I could build. You can take it personal, but don’t act like it’s that surprising."

He jabbed a finger at Drex, not angry, just serious.

"If you want to give me a lesson, be smart. Train. Keep improving. Show me that I’d better consider you than playing my game."

Drex just stood there, breathing hard, like he’d just run a mile. This wasn’t difficult, it was just impossible.

The boys were dead silent, watching, terrified, like they were waiting for Drex to explode. Jinzo looked broken, like someone had kicked his dog. Mac looked like he was about to cry, no joke, his eyes were wet with anger.

Finally, Drex shook his head, then chuckled, and looked straight at Nash.

"Yeah... I’m done."